“Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing this week signalled a hardening stance, including with the arrests of dozens of protesters, and the Chinese military saying it was ready to quell the “intolerable” unrest if requested.

“But protesters have remained unyielding, vowing to hold multiple occupations and rallies into next week, sending tensions soaring once more.

“On Saturday they embraced their mantra ‘be water’ – a philosophy of unpredictability espoused by local martial arts legend Bruce Lee – in a bid to keep police guessing.

“Throughout the evening they put up makeshift barricades across multiple roads in Tsim Sha Tsui, a popular shopping and tourist district on the harbourfront, where many luxury malls and hotels shut their doors.

“They also blocked one of the three cross-harbour tunnels connecting to the main island, causing widespread traffic chaos, before disappearing after half an hour.

“’We will fight as guerrillas today and be water,’ a masked and helmeted 19-year-old, who gave her surname Lee, told AFP.”

China blames the US for stoking the protests, but the US has yet to issue strong warnings to the government in Beijing to respect the right of protests, even as it seems as if China may be contemplating a military crackdown on the protests.